


U.A. Fallout

by Dogi_Crimson



Category: Fallout (Video Games), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fallout, Canon-Typical Violence, For most part at least!, Hacker's only OC in this fic with any plot relevancy, Izuku is having bad day, Make that a week, Minor Character Death, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Apocalypse, Quirkless Midoriya Izuku, minor OC's - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-04-24 16:09:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19176772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dogi_Crimson/pseuds/Dogi_Crimson
Summary: War. War never changes. Over two hundred years ago, Quirks appeared, causing a civil war inside every country - who were fighting over what was the humane way to treat the new power-shift in human evolution. It quickly became clear that peaceful resolution was not possible when the opposing sides laid down their demands, and the war quickly took over the streets in less than a few years.It all came to an end when the nuclear fire rained down, in an attempt to wipe the slate clean, or perhaps as a last desperate attempt for victory.It was only through the Vaults, underground bunkers built to withstand even the most powerful of Quirks, that humans managed to escape complete annihilation. But even now, over two hundred years later, the war between the Quirkless and the Quirked is fresh in the minds of some, festering quietly into something ugly, ready to start the conflict again.Because War... War never changes.





	1. The Great Escape

     _“What a sad era when it is easier to smash an atom than a prejudice.”_  
            -Albert Einstein

* * *

*✧･ﾟ･✧*

 

Grey. Grey and dull and dull and grey, and, oh, you guessed it - more grey. Izuku Midoriya kept staring at the roof of his room, desperately wishing for any kind of color there. Maybe a poster, paint, anything that wasn't either grey or the fluorescent white of the lamps. But, he knew it was a long shot at best - they couldn't afford an allowance for such things. And Izuku, being Quirkless, wasn't allowed even the simplest of jobs inside the Vault - discrimination at its best, but Izuku knew where it came from, so he didn't take it too much to heart. He was still ever helpful, and one day he'd prove he was just as good of a person as the rest of the residence. His ultimate dream was to become a Quirk Counselor, and he certainly had both the brains and the skills for it. But right now, it seemed like a pipe-dream, with the Overseer refusing to let him clean toilets, let alone be in charge of the young quirk-users... 

Sighing to himself, the now 14, soon 15 year old Izuku lifted his arm, looking at his Pip-boy. While an older model than most other occupants’, it did its job - checked his vitals, tracked his inventory, had a recorder and radio, notes (which he admittedly used the second most), maps, a tracking system, a HUD (which was most used system, being able to tell who were friendly and who were not was immensely helpful), a Geiger counter... Hell, Izuku had been playing with the thing for nearly 5 years now. He was certain he knew more about the functions than the rest of the vault combined, if you discounted the technicians. He had tinkered with the mechanics, purged some files that should not have been there, adjusted some screws and wires, cleaned the thing spotless - honestly, it might've worked better than the newer models, and was sturdier. A lot so. Enough to take the punishment from the other teens of his age. 

Pulling out the ear pod, Izuku sighed again, before starting to listen to his recorded history-lesson. He had been excused from this class, thanks to old lady Maki, who had a soft spot for the Midoriya family, and by extension him. She didn't want Izuku to go through this lesson in class, and Izuku knew why. Still, the words replayed by the ear pod stung like an army of wasps. He could only imagine how bad it would've been in class, with everyone staring right at him with hatred and malice and blaming him for the fucked up situation that was the world above ground.

_"Now settle down class, settle down. Yes even you, Minami. Now, who can tell where we left off in yesterday's History class? Anyone?"_

Izuku knew the answer even before anyone had replied, but he was the nerd after all. 

_"Yes, Fukui?"_

__

__

_"The conflict between the Meta Liberation Army and the several governments that tried to suppress Quirk usage - The Meta Liberation War. It started civil and with good intentions, but soon those without Quirks became afraid of those with powers, and tried to use laws to subdue them. A group dedicated to allowing people to use their powers took offense to that, causing several civil wars. It ended with some Quirkless organization launching the nukes everywhere, in attempt to wipe out most of human-race to prevent too powerful Quirks from manifesting."_

Izuku heard the murmurs of the classmates, recognizing some of the voices. 

_"That is one way to look at it, yes. But, the Meta Liberation Army however was not benevolent, peace-loving group. They were, and always will be, the instigators of the war, never forget that."_

More murmurs, someone in the back loudly exclaiming that the MLA had been in the right, that they were just for trying to let people be who they were. That the Quirkless Losers - oh hi Bakugo - should've just sucked it, and accepted that Quirks were part of people’s lives now. Yeah. They should've. But they didn't. Izuku knew this part of the history too well, as it had been relayed to him over and over and over after getting his diagnosis of being Quirkless. Even after his mother had tried her best to soothe the pain of knowing the war had happened because of Quirkless not accepting Quirks... Well it still stung.

The lecture went on, going into finer details about the war, the figure heads, the dates, all those nitty gritty things no one really cared about. Of course, they also touched on Vault Tec - who wouldn't love Vault Tec. Originated from the US, the corporation had started by making huge leaps in the technological field, working closely with government and army. They had branched into Japan as well - that's when the energy-weapons manufacturing really took off, Izuku mentally noted. And, sadly, that was when the wars started to take civilian casualties.

When the war between Quirkless and Quirked got to that point, Vault Tec had decided to build underground bunkers, capable of withstanding nuclear bombs if needed to - after all, who knows what kind of crazy Quirks kids would develop, the Vaults needed to be safe both inside and outside. They were built to protect those who wished to stay outside the conflict - and plenty of people did from what Izuku could gather. Most had already moved in, closed the doors... and then those crazy people launched the nukes, not even a week after all the Vaults had been sealed.

They actually didn't know why they had launched the nukes - not fully, at least. Their Overseer at the time had received a message from Vault Tec representatives - just before the lines went dark - that the Quirkless Rebellion had done it, but over the years no one had actually gone outside to verify that. How could they, it was over two hundred years ago anyway, anyone who'd know was long dead. Even an immortality quirk wouldn't save you from that wretched radioactive wasteland that waited outside. And yes, he knew it was a radioactive wasteland - they did send out droids about every decade or so to gather soil-samples and see if the world was any better. The news was always depressing. In theory, they could survive outside, but it was much safer in the Vault still - where they had clean water, food sources, power, and a medical staff. And where they could trust each other.

Well, where everyone else could trust each other. Izuku couldn't trust anyone, if the mutters in the recording were anything to go by. Right. He was Quirkless. And Quirkless people were at fault for this situation. Ergo, it was Izuku’s fault. He could already feel a sick twinge inside his stomach, knowing tomorrow at school was going to be hell and a half. It wasn't Izukus fault what people from 200 years ago did, but since he was the only Quirkless resident around, he became an easy target for harassment. Even if the sweet old lady Maki tried her best to keep the bullies at bay when in class. Even when his mother tried her best to shield Izuku from harm. It just wasn't fair, but it was the hand he got dealt with. 

The lecture ended. Izuku took a deep breath, and opened the notes in his pip-boy, starting to write down notes for his class. Public prosecutions aside, he still had grades to hold up. Who knows, maybe if he kept his top score - well, almost top, Kacchan held the lead by technicality of alphabetical ordering of their names - the Overseer would reconsider not giving Izuku a simple job. Maybe then Izuku could get that poster on the roof, and get rid of the grey. 

 

*✧･ﾟ･✧*

 

Alright. Izu had wanted something different than grey for his roof, sure. But his idea of colors were not spiky ashen blond, or burning red. Which is what it was exactly now, as he stared at the person who just had woken up Izuku. Katsuki Bakugo, Kacchan. His classmate, childhood friend, long-time tormentor... and invader of privacy apparently, considering this was Izuku’s room, in the Midoriya’s residence, in the middle of the night. Izuku was about to scream, when Kacchan quickly covered his mouth, shushing the poor startled boy. 

As soon as Izuku calmed down a bit, the hand was removed. The greenette bit back the urge to wipe his mouth and jaw clean of the explosive sweat, opting into just breathing harshly to help with his racing heart. Katsuki was not exactly, well, a nice person. Not these days. Hadn't been in ages. The blond was quick to throw a punch, kick, or even burn Izuku or his possessions with that amazing quirk of his, but he had never invaded Izuku’s home like this - and with the expression Katsuki was wearing right now, Izuku got the sinking feeling that something really bad had happened, even if his marker in the HUD was yellow. Yes, Izuku fell asleep with that thing on, he had been ambushed one too many times, call him paranoid but it was way too good of a system to not use.

"Deku, I need you to be fucking quiet, and listen," came the rough voice, spoken in a rather low tone. This did not help with Izuku’s panic, but he did manage a small, shaky nod. Instead of speaking further, Katsuki tapped his pip-boy controls - a notification appeared in Izuku’s HUD about a new audio-file being transferred. Ding, few seconds later, he had it. Shooting a confused look at Katsuki, Izuku was about to open his mouth when Katsuki just placed one finger on his lips. Got it, keep quiet, just listen to the thing. Reaching for the ear-pod once again, Izuku sat up, and started listening. Within a minute and half, all the color he had drained from his face. 

_"So, how are we going to go around this? Malfunctioning door?"_  
_"We used that on the brat’s father, and while I can see the irony in it I'd rather not let Inko get suspicious. One technician we can spare, but not our nurse."_  
_"Right. Exposed wires, accidental electrocution then? Unless he suddenly develops a Quirk that lets him survive that..."_  
_"Sounds like a plan. Can't have one of those... vile creatures running around in our vault. It was fine when he was just a child, but he's getting older. Smarter. Who knows when he snaps and nukes us..."_  
_"I hear you. I can barely sleep, knowing that there's a Quirkless in our Vault. It's already hard enough to keep an eye on him these days."_  
_"Yeah, I keep hearing he's gotten good at stealth - people are swearing that even with the Pip-Boys he's like a shadow. Which is why we need to deal with this as soon as possible, before he turns those skills against us."_  
_"Well, I know Fukui is having maintenance on fifth level in two days, on the route I know the brat runs through when running from his classmates. I could... pull Fukui aside mid work. If we time it right, Mitsuki’s kid will be chasing the brat down that floor roughly the same time."_  
_"Sounds good, though the timing needs to be perfect. Want me to radio when I see the kids running?"_  
_"Yes. This needs to look like a freak accident, after all."_

Suddenly, Izuku felt bile rise in his mouth. It was too much information at once, and Izuku had to listen again, just to make sure he had heard everything correctly. He knew these people - they were part of the security guards in the Vault. People he had been taught to always trust and look for when there was trouble. And they were plotting his murder. No, not just plotting it, admitting they had done this before with... No. No no. No no no NO NO-

_Don't think about it. Don't think of the smears. It's been years Izuku you weren't even supposed to see it. Don't think of the door. Don't think about it don't think don't-_

Kacchan snapped his fingers in front of Izuku’s face, snapping the slowly panicking boy out of his thoughts. The grave, angry look on his face was now much clearer, and Izuku could somewhat understand now that part of that anger was not directed at Izuku himself. Rather, it was directed at the two guards thinking of using Katsuki for murder, which was something that the prideful boy would not tolerate one bit. 

"Listen carefully, got it? Pack up your things - not all of them, just the necessities, try to keep it light. Raid your mom’s med cabinet for the Radaway and Rad-x. Food and water. Don't bother with anything that will slow you down or is useless."

Izuku blinked in confusion, but got up, reaching for his bag. Before he started to pack though, he turned to Katsuki, keeping his voice low as he uttered one word. "Why?"

Katsuki fixed him with harsh stare, but contrary to the explosive teen’s normal behavior there was a steel like calm in him now. 

"Because I'm getting you out of this Vault before any of those fucks has the chance to kill you."

 

*✧･ﾟ･✧*

 

It shouldn't have surprised Izuku, not really. Katsuki was... a lot of things. A lot of those things were not exactly positive traits in a person. Abrasive. Impulsive. Prideful. Violent. Insensitive. But Kacchan was amazing. Sure there was the rotten elements, but his Quirk, devotion to his goal, combat abilities, physical strength, his scores in school... These were part of the reason why Izuku looked up to the ash blond teen. Katsuki’s goal? He wanted to become a security guard, which was not an easy job to get in the Vault, but considering Kacchan’s abilities, Quirk, and connections it would make sense why security was perfect choice for him. 

So, hearing that the security - 'Protect our own' - had murdered someone, and were planning on another murder must've really shaken the teen up. But his devotion to being the security that beats the troublemakers had kicked in - sadly this wasn't something Katsuki could deal with violence, so he had chosen another way to beat them - through stealth. For someone so impatient it was actually surprising tactic. One that worked, as the two kept moving through the darkened hallways, their footsteps dulled by their careful movements. The closer they got towards the entrance, the easier it got - no one was usually here, aside from maybe a guard or two. Well, easier to not get caught at least. Izuku had a slight problem with breathing, anxiety and fear rolling into a small ball inside his chest, clawing at his throat and lungs. 

He didn't want to do this. He really didn't. For a moment he had considered just stealing a guard’s gun and shooting himself - but he had dropped that thought real quick. He didn't want to die, he wanted to help people - and the best way to help right now was to leave the Vault. Either in a bodybag and incinerator, or through the door - and at least if he went through the door, he'd have higher chance of surviving and well, helping anyone who's outside. 

There was of course the issue of Izuku’s mother - but there really wasn't time to explain, or leave long notes, or anything of the sort. So, instead Izuku had left one short holotape on his desk, trying to avoid as many details as possible. Just mentioning that he needed to leave, and not to worry about him, stay safe in the vault, and the standard, very teary 'I love you mom'. Overall it was less than thirty seconds, and hopefully would keep his mother from completely losing it. It was going to hurt her - Izuku knew that much - but it would hurt less than having to bury her son. At least this way she'd have hope. 

Another dark corner came ahead, but this time Katsuki stopped, clicking his tongue. Another click came back, and Izuku tensed as a figure one head taller came around it. Security uniform. Ashen hair. Mitsuki Bakugo, Katsuki’s mother, had been waiting behind the corner. From her scowl it was easy to tell she wasn't pleased with the situation one bit, and from crossing her arms... she wasn't agreeing with this plan. But she hadn't made a move yet. Hadn't started shouting yet. Her angry glare fixed on Izuku, and the green-haired teen held back the urge to yelp and just run to hide. 

"You have ten minutes before my partner comes back. That's all I'm giving you." she started, taking in shaky breath, her scowl softening a bit. Mitsuki hadn't exactly liked Izuku too much when the Quirkless status had come public knowledge, even shouting at the child once. But, she and Inko had been friends. And murdering their own vault residents for no good reason was not part of the security's job. "I don't know how you're planning on getting the door open, or how you think you'll survive out there. But... good luck." The words rang hollow, a bit awkward. Izuku however smiled weakly, nodding to her.

But it felt wrong to just... be quiet. So, he spoke, with shaky voice. 

"Miss Bakugo... Thank you. Please, can- can you look after my mom? Make sure she doesn't run after me?"

That must've been the right thing to say, as Mitsuki’s face melted from disdain to understanding, as she sighed and reached out to ruffle the green curls. "Sure, kid."

It was all that was said, before the two teens stalked through the corridor, one last door before the vault door. At the threshold, Katsuki stopped and pointed at a console hidden in the shadows. "Didn't tell anyone, but I've seen you tinker with the Pip-boy. And I know you've hacked into door terminals a couple of times to hide from me and the extras in the locked up areas." He sent a harsh glare at the boy. "Never caught you in act so I couldn't just report that, made it my mission but now... ... think you can hack that?"

Izuku looked back and forth, and then gave short nod. "I... think so. I got all my tools for getting through, just need a bit of time to comb over the data," he admitted. "Doors are easy to trick, though this one might have some added protection and some firewalls, but I think I can bypass them if I fool the system into thinking I'm a technician doing a check-"

His voice got cut off, as Katsuki pressed his head down with one arm, hard. "Well stop mumbling and get to it! I need to get out of here before I get caught!"

Izuku understood that this was as far as Katsuki would come, he wouldn't risk it further. Izuku wouldn't even want Katsuki to do that, this was dangerous enough already - if they weren't afraid of harming their own Vault residents just for the Quirkless thing... Yeah. Best if Katsuki gets going, now. So, Izuku just smiled, trying to put on brave face. "Thanks Kacchan... you're a good person."

"Yeah, well. Just don't get yourself killed and waste my efforts, you shitty nerd."

No more was said, as the teen went back into the dark, and Izuku was left alone. Looking around, his eyes landed on a couple of old lockers next to the maindoor. He was scrawny, but he had to try and buy himself some extra time - so he stalked over to them, and started shoving, pushing, pulling with all of his strength. It must've been some stroke of luck for the first locker to fall down and instantly get in the way of the door. But that wouldn't be enough, on to the next, and then the third. Soon enough he had small barricade in the way, hopefully that would buy him a couple extra minutes once the door would start to open up. Especially since Detsu, affectionately nicknamed Death Arms, was not on duty. That guy was only one with a suitable Quirk for dealing with barricades and-

Oh wow, rambling again. Izuku started his job, glad for the silence and a job that was going to distract him perfectly. His Pip-Boy attached to the system, the hacking started - with the Pip-Boy hacking system it was actually relatively easy, he just needed to know how to read and do some basic math. Then again Izuku had enhanced his own Pip-Boy, so the possible passwords he was getting was much lower. 

"12 characters, really? Then again it is the Vault door, guess they really needed something strong... that means anything with just numbers is out, same with just letters. It needs to be something with meaning though. A phrase, maybe?"

Oh, there was the mumbling again. Izuku tested a couple of the passwords he found, backed away before system lockdown, tried again... Overall, the 12 characters did cause a lot of trouble, and only on his third log-in did he finally find the right code. Not that it made much sense for him. _'N3D7UwasH3R3'_

"... Leetspeak. Should've guess it." he mumbled, before tapping in the command to open the door, and disconnecting from the terminal. Two seconds later, he heard a small hiss, and then...

The sound that came was nothing he had ever heard.

Screeching metal, mechanics that hadn't been used for Gods know how long, alarms, the sheer volume of it all. And to top it all off, this was slow process, the drill like structure moving down and taking hold of the center of the door, slowly then rolling it to the side.

A dark stony tunnel opened up behind it, and Izuku could hear the heavy footsteps and shouts from the corridor. No time to waste, the Quirkless boy ran as fast as his legs allowed - the Vault door wasn't fully to the side but he didn't mind, his job was to get out and as far as he could and he could just squeeze through the gap. Izuku could hear a yell from somewhere near the barricade that was doing its job, orders for him to stop this instant. 

_Can't have one of those... vile creatures running around in our vault._  
_Yes. This needs to look like a freak accident, after all._  
_Who knows when he snaps and nukes us._

____

Izuku wasn't sure why he turned around, meeting the eyes of one of the guards who had stopped in their tracks right after getting over the lockers, staring at the Quirkless boy running. It was just for a few seconds. Just for a few short seconds, and finally the anger came. The injustice of it all. The sheer unfairness of the discrimination he had endured his whole life and how the people he was supposed to trust had plotted his murder for, what, a thing he was born with?

Izuku let it out in one, furious yell.

"SCREW YOU BIGOTS, I AM OUT!"

With a burst of speed, he twisted and kept running through the tunnel, hearing how the Vault door was being closed behind him. Finally, he saw light, and a small rickety door - that was a door right? - and he braced his shoulder slamming right through it. The light that followed blinded him, making him trip over something - and next thing he knew, he was face first in a green puddle. 

Welcome to the Wasteland, Izuku Midoriya.

* * *

 

##### Footnote - Level Up  
New Perk added - Moving Target. They can't hurt what they can't hit! Get 25+ Damage Resistance and 25+ Energy Resistance when you're sprinting.


	2. Chapter 2, Gravity Of The Situation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously in U.A. Fallout!  
> \- Izuku is a Quirkless teen in a Vault full of Quirks, enduring bias - until a conspiracy to end his life was uncovered by Katsuki, by none other than the Vault Security! With Katsuki’s help, Izuku managed to escape… But what lies ahead?

_“It is a mathematical fact that the casting of this pebble from my hand alters the centre of gravity of the universe.”  
_     - Thomas Carlyle

* * *

 

*✧･ﾟ･✧*

_Click click click_

 

An unfamiliar and unwelcome warmth spread across Izuku’s face - it was wet, wet was supposed to be cold, why was this burning…? Instantly he became alarmed, jumping up from the puddle and dashing away from it. If it was warm it could burn, best to get away, now!

 

_Click click click..._

 

Swiping the goo out of his face, he checked over himself - it wasn't actually burning him, but it was giving a warm sensation. And it was making his Pip-Boy click like mad - though the clicking had calmed down after Izuku had dashed off. Checking the device, Izuku became then painfully aware of what it was doing. Warning him - of radiation, of all things. He must've taken a small dose of it already... Sure enough, there was a couple of bright orange and yellow barrels near the door he had just run through, and a green puddle at the base of it. Stepping backwards, away from the scene, the Pip-Boy calmed down further, until it was only softly clicking at the residue on Izuku’s suit. His first few steps and he already had radiation to deal with - thankfully not enough to be lethal, or even harmful. Still, better get that goop off of him.

So, he spent the next couple minutes trying to clear that out, walking away from the door... until he did the mistake of looking around. And then up. And then even further up, when his legs buckled underneath him - where was the roof? Where was the roof!? He had heard about this weird blue thing called the 'sky,' but he had always imagined it as just a spherical roof in his mind, not this... this... open vastness that would surely yank him up there!

 _I'm going to die. I'm going to die. Holy shit I should've stayed in the Vault because that would've been_ _a_ _more peaceful death than whatever this is-_

So much space. Too much space. He was feeling lost and he hadn't even taken more than a dozen or so steps outside of the tunnel. Lost and utterly terrified, nothing had any right to be this BIG. Any second now, the ground beneath him would disappear and he'd just float into the nothing and-

 

His Pip-Boy hissed, and a sound, a voice came through.

 

"Close your eyes!"

What? Izuku was too dazed to process the command, but he definitely didn't want to do that. However, his Pip-Boy insisted, so slowly, he closed them. And, oddly enough, it seemed to help... at least a bit. Especially when his Pip-Boy kept talking.

"That's it. Just stay still for a moment. Test the ground with your fingers, feel the pull of the Earth. The gravity isn't going to stop working just because you saw that big ugly bright thing. ... Eh, if you can actually hear me, mind waving your hand with the Pip-Boy?"

Izuku, now much more calmer - no, he wasn't going to open his eyes - obeyed, waving the arm in the air a bit. It felt a bit dumb, but it seemed to do something because the voice continued.

"Awesome! Okay, think you can sit up? Don't have to look anywhere, just sitting up is fine."

Again, Izuku obeyed. For the most part. He did sit up, now convinced that the gravity indeed still worked, and he had no worries from the big... empty... vast... _Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Stuff it into the little hole with other things not to think about, now._

Izuku was quick to check his Pip-Boy now, eyes kept down. As long as he didn't look up, he was fine. Or forward. Or left... Gah. Too many directions to look at that would remind him of things he didn't want to think about. Back to the machine strapped onto his arm it was! One quick look provided him with the information that his Pip-Boy hadn't miraculously grown a sentient AI upon setting outside - rather, someone was speaking to him through the radio.

"Alright, here's the dealio! You're from the Vault, and judging from your movements you've never been outside, correct? Don't bother answering, I can't actually hear you. I'm just tracking your device movements right now, and the ones you made are actually really common whenever someone gets out of one of those sardine cans. You can call me Hacker. I'd like to explain everything, but right now since your broadcaster is just a one way deal, I can't do much. So! Please head to the East, near the beach. There's an old auto-shop about an hour walk from where you're at, the radio in there is two-way and we can actually talk!"

Izuku stared at his Pip-Boy, nodding then, still dazed before getting up a bit. Then realizing that Hacker didn't actually hear or see him - just his Pip-Boy, somehow - he moved his Pip-Boy in manner of nodding. That hopefully got the message across.

"Oh sweet, you're a smart one! Before I go, here's a piece of advice. You got a radar on that? Keep it up. Constantly. And make sure you get some sort of weapon if your Quirk can't handle combat, if you got one. The outside world is a nasty place, and the older Vault Dwellers didn't say "red it's dead" for nothing. Oh right, and be sure your ear-plug is in if you're listening to the radio, you don't want to alert anything if you're doing the sneaky thing! Good luck!"

Izuku blinked a couple times, but then nodded to himself. Turning his head, his radar quickly showed what direction was East - no bars, green or red, were shown over there. That was a good thing, Izuku really didn't fancy the idea of having to fight with anything or anyone right now. Keeping his eyes solely below the horizon, he slowly started to move towards his target. It would take hours, Izuku figured, but at least he now had a direction.

 

*✧･ﾟ･✧*

 

Outside. _Sucked_. This was now a fact, a universal law. This much Izuku had decided roughly twenty minutes into his journey, and upon meeting the first red bar out in the Wasteland. Well, first, second, fifth... about seven or so, all at once. He had no idea what on Earth those creatures were - grotesquely bloated flies? No bug should be bigger than his foot, but these suckers were at least the size of his torso. And they shot projectiles! Those projectiles being wriggling worms, maggots, that were length of Izuku’s hand. And the bite from those suckers actually stung! It was the first time Izuku had actually killed something, his hands gripping the short leadpipe he had found earlier - thank you, Hacker, for giving a warning!

He had never fought back when it came to his bullies, but in this fight he had something to give him an edge.

The V.A.T.S. - in other words, Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System. It was one of the lesser used functions in Izuku’s Pip-Boy - and oh, how he regretted not using it earlier whenever there was a brawl. With a single flick, the HUD that was displayed for him highlighted the targets, and through some technical marvel time seemed to slow down, allowing him to target his enemies to make more accurate hits. Of course he knew this thing didn't actually slow time - it was some sort of a booster allowing him to process more information at once, giving the illusion. Still, it was a cool feature which he wished he had used more often before now.

Mostly because if he _had_ used it... Maybe he could've gotten used to the strain that came with the feature much, much earlier. Four of the flies - Bloatflies, his radar informed him - had gone down, and two of them were at least crippled. That left three still shooting at him, and he dashed over to a pile of rubble, ducking behind it. Hearing the squishy, meaty sound of the worm-projectiles hitting the concrete, he let out a sigh - he had a couple seconds tops before those flies would come around to his hiding spot. Didn't seem like they could fly really high and all that... Could he hit them without the aid? Probably. Did he want to risk getting more bites? Not really.

The buzzers weren't going to let him think on it too much, as the first one already rounded the corner. Thank the Gods these things were dumb, as Izu swung his pipe - splattering the first bug into the rubble. Okay, he can hit without the V.A.T.S, good to know! Izuku made a mental note to hold off on the feature from now on if it was just a couple bugs he was up against - the headache that followed was no fun. The second bug came around and met the same fate as the previous, leaving only one red bar dancing around the radar. Deciding he could handle one more bite, Izuku took a deep breath and dashed from his hiding spot, the bug already arching its rear.

Izuku sprinted, his pipe ready - ducking low to avoid being hit with the maggot. Guess he had learned how to evade, at least. His arm swung in large arc, pipe hitting in the fly's midsection, making the bug explode in gooey chunks. Finally, that was the last red- why was the pipe suddenly so much lighter? Panting heavily from the sprint and fight, Izuku took a look at his impromptu weapon, realizing that it had snapped, broken in half.

 

"... Well crap."

 

A laugh escaped him, which then turned into broken giggles as he allowed himself to collapse on the ground, wheezing from the fight, the pain, and finally just letting the situation settle in. Curling his legs against his chest, Izuku kept laughing and sobbing. He didn't want this. He didn't want to be outside anymore, this fight snapping him out of the surreal dream-state he had been in earlier. What stupid thoughts he had had earlier. Maybe he could sneak back in. Find something useful, and get back in. Get a fucking _Quirk_ and get back in. Or maybe the outside wasn't as bad as he had thought. Maybe there'd be a place for him. Maybe this place wasn't as dangerous and he'd find a family and could reconnect with his Vault later and get to meet his mom and-

 

All those thoughts got squashed about as fast as the bugs that had been trying to take a bite out of him. And the worst part was that he felt bad for killing them. They were bugs, for goodness sake, and Izuku still felt bad.

 

It felt like ages until Izuku finally calmed down enough to notice something - his Pip-boy was alerting him of two things. In a tired haze, he looked at the first notification about his health. He had some bite-wounds, and possible infections if he didn't rinse and clean the wounds right away. Grimacing slightly, he got up, only to plop back down near a rubble pile to have something to lean against. The second notification was much more interesting - a radio-signal was picked up. Figuring it wouldn't hurt, Izuku set the radio-station on, and started dressing his wounds. Maybe there was some prenuke emergency broadcast going on?

What greeted Izuku was extremely up-beat music, that made him want to snap his fingers to it. But since he had to fix up his wounds, he settled into nodding to the beat and lyrics, humming quietly as soon as he figured out the rhythm. ' _Good thing mom was a nurse_ ,' Izuku mused as he tied another bite down. They still stung, but he wasn't going to waste anymore of his medical supplies on bug bites. The music faded away, and he anticipated another one to follow. Oh how wrong he was.

 

"Hello my listeners! Coming to you live from the fortified haven of U.A., it is I, Present Mic! Can I get a YEAH!"

 

Needless to say that Izuku nearly jumped out of his skin at the loud radio-personality. But, he soon settled, realizing the implications. Live. It meant someone here was alive, and doing a broadcast nonetheless. It wasn't just Hacker then, there were actually people around! So, he soaked in every word that followed.

"Now we all want to go back into the music, but there's been some breaking news I want to address! Reliable sources are telling me that the Hellfires are on the move, trying to take back what they lost on the last raider-gang war with the League - some reports even say they're attacking anyone and everything that comes into their current turf. Can't blame them, after the loss of one of their big guns under mysterious circumstances. So if you're around the Old Neighborhood, get the hell out of there before they gear up for round two!"

So there was also gangs out here. Good to know - though how would Izuku recognize them?

"On to the other part, here's a reminder for all of you Wasteland Adventurers and Little Listeners out there! Don't. Drink. The water. Not unless it's been boiled at least twice, or has been purified with other methods! Drinking dirty water is a huge no-no, as it's currently one of the leading causes for diseases and radiation! If you have pure water, save it for drinking! That should be all - next up is Earphone Jack and 'Heartbeats'!"

Instead of jazzy beat, something much louder and, well, aggressive came out of the radio this time. Izuku wasn't exactly paying attention to the sounds, as he was now staring at the half-empty water bottle he had just used to clean his cuts.

"... Why couldn't you have told me that earlier!?"

 

*✧･ﾟ･✧*

 

Izuku now quickly learned he, in fact, enjoyed the radio. The music was soothing, or energizing, and kept his mind off of certain things. It was also a good way for him to actually get some rest - whenever Present Mic appeared, Izuku found the nearest spot to sit on and listened. As eccentric and loud as the man originally was, he was giving good information about the dangers of the Wastes. Mostly just updates on the situation in Old Neighborhood, as well as sightings of certain wanderers in the area to look out for - either because they were dangerous, or because they were someone to help.

And so he kept going for two hours or so. The rubble and uneven dirt turned into a street with tall buildings and some broken down vehicles, and the scent of salty air hit his nostrils. If he dared to look properly, he could even see a glimmer of something in distance - probably the sea? The sting in his wounds had subsided as well, the music had soothed his nerves, and all was well.

 

Until it wasn't.

 

Red bars, three in total, and one amber one appeared on his radar. Stopping in his tracks, he backpedaled a bit. They winked out. So, they were far away from him, and not coming his way. Proceed with caution, preferably with a weapon. That lone amber bar was setting him on edge - it meant there was a friendly, or at least a neutral person in there. One amber bar... in the middle of the three. Well it was on his way to his destination... Looking around the street and cracked asphalt, his eyes landed near a vehicle and a short metal pipe tool thing. At least it looked like a tool? Reaching down to pick it up, he decided it was as good of a weapon as any - considering his previous metal stick had just broken.

So, he started moving forwards again, this time keeping himself low. He wasn't going to rush in and get bitten by bugs again, or anger anything that didn't need angering.

Or at least that was the plan, until he got close enough to hear a shout full of desperation. A girl’s voice.

 

"Get away from me! I'm warning you!"

 

Izuku took off in a sprint, rounding on the corner of the street to see three adults - two males and one woman - chasing around a teenage girl in the old parking lot (which his Pip-Boy dinged at. New location discovered, Mono’s Mobile Fixers. Would you look at that, it was his destination too!). They were all, well, dirty, and pretty worn down, wearing ragged clothes. The girl was slightly less intimidating looking, with the three adults clearly favoring spikes and leather, and something that looked like really flimsy makeshift armor. Clearly it was built for intimidation, not for actual protection, Izuku figured. Which was good, because he was about to do something really, really stupid.

Taking a running start, Izuku leaped, holding his weapon above his head with two hands only to bring it down. On one of the attacker’s head - one of the guys, one with some sort of mutant quirk that gave him rock-like protrusions in his skin. A crack was heard and the man went down, dropping a baseball bat he had been carrying. Sweet gods, were those... nails in it? He couldn't spare more than a quick glance, but it seemed like the guy was knocked out. Couldn't really make sure, as the woman turned around to look at him with a wild look in her solid black eyes, and a blood-stained knife in her hand. Oh crud.

She screeched, and attacked - and it was here when Izuku hit the V.A.T.S, aiming a hit at the knife and then a hit to her shoulder, hoping it would be enough. The disarming hit worked perfectly, but the second Izuku’s weapon hit her near pure white skin - well, would've been pure white if it wasn't for all the grime and dirt - his weapon just went through. Slightly panicked, Izuku jumped back - a quirk that made one not solid was quite rare, but clearly it had its advantages in fights like this. But how did the dirt and clothes stay on her? Was it just certain items? Or certain locations?

 

"Banshee hurry up! This bitch is slippery!"

 

The remaining man shouted while still chasing the girl around the lot, and the woman obliged, running towards Izuku now, cackling maniacally. "Time’s up Blue! Should've stayed in the Vault!"

Izuku still had at least two shots left in the V.A.T.S - and he sure as hell was going to use it, realizing then that he'd have to hit to a spot that was covered up. And that meant... Raising his arm, and pointing an elbow out, he ran, ramming the bony end of the elbow right into Banshee’s Solar Plexus with his targeting system’s help. The wind got knocked out of her, and she staggered back quite a few steps holding the spot that had been hit - good thing the black vest stood out so well against her skin, it helped immensely with the aiming. And he clearly had hit hard, judging from the way Banshee was gasping for air. Good. That gave time for Izuku to take a deep breath, to fight off the oncoming headache from using the V.A.T.S so much so soon. He really would have to work on optimizing the thing...

Banshee clearly wasn't used to getting hit, as she soon fell down to her knees, and Izuku took the chance to run up to the last man. The girl who had been chased around however did something - telekinesis, possibly, as a hunk of a broken car fell on the last member of the attacking party. He could hear the crunch, the pained wail and then... silence. Oh god was he- No. Don't think about it. Don't. Just check if the brown-haired girl was okay. The Vault dweller moved closer, placing one hand on her shoulder, starting to say something-

 

\- Only to get slapped in the face. Well out of all the possible reactions, that was not even the worst possible one.

And that was when Izuku realized, to his absolute horror, that his feet were not on the ground anymore. And he wasn't falling either. So, he did what any reasonable person with a sincere fear of the open skies did.

 

Panic and scream.

 

His limbs were flailing in the air as he tried desperately to get back towards the ground, only to be denied. The skies were going to take him after all. He was going to disappear into the vast nothing, and none would be any wiser.

"HACKER YOU LYING SON OF A BITCH YOU SAID GRAVITY WOULDN'T STOP WORKING!"

Not that Hacker would even know what happened to him. But suddenly, the pull of the Earth came back in a rush. What had felt like hundreds of feet, was in reality only seven or so. With a thud he landed on the cracked concrete, only to cling to the ground like his life depended on it.

 

"Oh thank God I am never letting my feet off the ground again that was horrible please don't do that again-"

"I am so sorry I thought you were a raider and I panicked and used my quirk without looking and-"

 

Oh great, they were both babbling. They both stopped, looking at each other in the eyes. Izuku’s brilliant bright green met the girl’s brown ones, and after a second of staring they both started to laugh quietly.

Too bad Banshee had gotten up, and true to her name screamed again. Izuku jumped up to his feet, raising fists again. "Take your friends and get lost!" How a woman of her size and quirk was going to carry two adult males, he didn't know. But at the same time, Izuku had learned not to question the outside at all. Banshee took one look at her two downed friends, then ran over to the knocked out one, dragging him up to her shoulders and starting to hobble out as fast as she could. Clearly she didn't like the odds of two against one.

"Screw this! Fine! The spot is yours scavenger! Just you wait until next time!"

The two teens kept staring after the escaping raiders, before Izuku turned to look over at the 'scavenger', as Banshee had called her.

 

"Uhm... h-hi. I'm Midoriya. Izuku Midoriya," he started, offering his hand for a handshake, flustered a bit. He tried really hard not to think about the body of someone crushed under a car, putting all his focus on the girl in front of him. She was a bit shorter than him, with an odd hairstyle. Her cheeks were pink, eyes about as round as Izuku’s, and when she took Izuku’s hand to shake he could tell she had these odd soft pads on her fingers.

"Ochako Uraraka! Thanks for helping out, and, um... Sorry for using my quirk on you. Never seen someone panic so much by going weightless."

Izuku’s face heated up, and he let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well you see... I just got out of an underground bunker I've spent my whole life in and the whole concept of _that_ -" a vague hand-gesture was made towards the skies "- it well.. freaks me out. For a second I thought the skies are going to eat me."

Uraraka chuckled, a cute little giggle, releasing Izuku’s hand. "Vault Dweller huh! That means you'll need a guide out here! Don't worry, I'll stick by your side for now as a thank you for helping me out, until you get the hang of it!" She beamed, and Izuku couldn't help but smile a bit at that too.

 

At least... at least he wasn't alone anymore.

 

* * *

 

##### Footnote - Level Up  
New Perk added - Action Boy, rank 1.  There's no time to waste! Action Points regenerate 25% faster.  
**Companion Perk added - High Spirits. Uraraka** **’** **s quirk and personality keeps you nearly floating! Floor based traps are easier to avoid!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew. Couple notes here, I'll try to be quick!  
> For starters, fight-scenes are... not really my forte. But I will do my best with them, if anyone has any general advice for the future I'm more than happy to hear it.  
> Secondly! I drew a quick visual on how V.A.T.S and Radar looks from outsiders point of view - can be found here: https://dogicrimsonofficial.tumblr.com/post/185779193903/did-quick-art-of-my-crossover-fic-to-illustrate


	3. Chapter 3 - Safe Stinking Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously in U.A. Fallout!  
> \- Izuku has survived the first tastes of the world. Bugs, radioactive waste, and even raiders! No small part to two new allies he made during this short time. Time to tell if they are here to stay, and what he should do next...

“Out here, it's better safe than sorry, because generally speaking, too much of the time sorry means you're dead.” 

― **Patricia C. Wrede, Across the Great Barrier**

* * *

 

***✧･ﾟ･✧***

 

Uraraka was, as Izuku quickly learned, a very chatty personality. Bubbly, full of energy, and so not what Izuku had gotten used to so far. Or rather, he wasn’t used to people talking to him in such a friendly manner, as they managed to get inside the ruined establishment. Izuku had just mentioned that he needed to use the two-way radio inside, and Uraraka hadn’t asked more about it. 

But the inside was… well it was a dump. Papers, ruined merchandise, not to mention the mess looters had left behind. The tiles were dirty and cracked, making crunching sounds as the two stalked forward in the dingy, dark building, with Izuku’s Pip-Boy light being their guiding beacon. 

 

“I see… three red bars. Pretty close, from how they’re moving,” Izuku whispered in a low tone, making Uraraka nod. Oddly enough, she didn’t seem all that bothered, only picking up what Izuku assumed to be an old metallic oil-can, giving it a quick swing to test how well it would fare as an impromptu weapon. 

“Probably just radroaches. I’ll get them, they’re good eating!” she chirped, moving forward with a confidence that came when you had spent as much time as she had in the radioactive wastes. She most likely had already realized that whatever was in the back, it wasn’t that big of a threat. 

“... Good eating?” Izuku questioned, watching after her before he started going through the half-corroded metal shelves. The radio most likely was in the back, but if Uraraka wanted to do something for those… radroaches, she called them? Then he’d better give her some space. 

Three crunches later, the red bars disappeared from Izuku’s radar, and Uraraka came around the corner again carrying a corpse of a… giant… cockroach. 

That thing must’ve been as big as Izuku’s torso!

 

“Hey you wouldn’t happen to have a knife on you? Mine broke.”

Izuku shook himself from his confused state, patting his pockets in search of any type of blade. He also checked his bag and… oh. He pulled out the bloodsoaked blade, holding it between two fingers while offering it to the bubbly girl. He must’ve picked that up when Banshee and her friend fled… 

Uraraka giggled again, taking the offending item and wiping it clean on the sleeve of her jacket, which had been tied around her waist.

 

“Well, it’s not in good condition, but it’ll do,” she commented, before nodding to the backroom. “I saw that radio you mentioned over there. I’ll join you in a second, okay?”

True to Uraraka’s words, the ham radio was there. Izuku sidestepped the two corpses of the dead radroaches - radiation made bugs bigger, duly noted. Izuku was slightly terrified to think what other insects had gotten this treatment. Beetles? Mosquitos? Dragonflies? What about other animals? 

 

_‘Don’t think about it.’_

 

He sat on the old, dusty, creaky chair in front of the radio, turning the nub and trying to find any frequency with any response to it. He did find classical radio - best to mark that down on his Pip-boy, if he ever got tired of Present Mic’s selection - and some weird beeping sounds. Probably just some pre-nuke things… Finally, he found the signal - he actually had to check from his Pip-Boy what frequency Hacker had used. 

 

“Come in, Hacker. Hacker, do you read me?”

 

“Loud and clear my boy!” came the instant reply, making Izuku first jump, then settle back down. Well that was one issue cleared. 

 

“Sorry if you had to wait, there was some trouble on the way,” the teen started, turning his head back as Uraraka walked in with tilted head. She was understandably curious what was going on. Izuku motioned her closer to listen in as well - he didn’t want to leave her out. 

“That’s alright, I kinda figured the topside wouldn’t be easy to travel through for a first-timer. So! Let’s get boring stuff out of the way first - name, age, reason you’re out of the vault? Just have to figure out how much help you need that’s all!” Hacker chirped happily, but Izuku wasn’t exactly thrilled. Well… best to get the bandaid ripped off. Better have Hacker dump him right off now, right?

“Izuku. Izuku Midoriya. I’m fourteen, soon to be fifteen. I’m out of my Vault because…” a moment of hesitation hit him, admitting what had happened and what he had uncovered just few hours ago… yeah, not fun. _‘Ripping the bandaid.’_

 

“Some people in my Vault wanted me dead. Might’ve been all of them, aside from a select few…” Izuku admitted, pressing his hands together and fidgeting a bit. Uraraka made confused sound, and Hacker stayed quiet on his end. Izuku could’ve stayed quiet. Could’ve just not told this next part. Who knew if the surface wanted him dead for this too. For a few intense seconds, his mouth opened and closed, not wanting to say it out loud. 

It was Uraraka who urged him to continue, by placing a warm hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. So, he took a deep breath, and started relaying the story - how people in his Vault believed Quirkless were monsters, ticking timebombs, and were treated as such. How he was deemed Quirkless. How his childhood friend turned bully had found out about the ploy and helped him escape. How he didn’t know what to do now, if there really was any place for a Quirkless in this world that didn’t involve becoming something he really didn’t. 

A stunned silence followed. Izuku was ready. Either Uraraka would attack him now and end it, or-

 

“Wow, your Vault is full of assholes.”

 

That… wasn’t what the teen was expecting. Looking up from his lap, then at Uraraka who was nodding along, having a fierce look on her face. Izuku’s voice cracked in confused sound, which Hacker picked up on instantly. 

“Look, it’s true Quirkless are a minority around here - they are at a disadvantage after all. And yeah, the history books say a lot of things about who started what. But how god damn stupid can they be -  it’s almost like they don’t realize it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy! If you keep beating your dog, you can’t expect it to stay loyal - same thing here, if they kept treating you like a criminal then I am bloody well surprised you _didn’t_ blow the Vault up!”

“Yeah! I bet none of them would’ve come to help me in a three on one fight, unlike you. Shows them, Quirks don’t matter when it comes to what kind of person you are!” Uraraka interjected, balling a hand into a fist and striking a pose, ready to punch an imagery foe in front of her. Izuku wisely decided to keep the quirk-theory on how it related to a person’s personality to himself at this point, only listening in awe at the two people who were cheering him on.

 

“I… Thank you. No one’s ever- I mean- The Vault-”

“Well the Vault was wrong.” Uraraka said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest now, puffing up her cheeks. “And if any of those people come near us, I will send them to the stratosphere!”

The laugh that escaped from Hacker was infectious, and soon all three were chuckling a bit. It was a great mood lifter, honestly. It certainly helped with Izuku’s anxieties. “So… neither of you care that I’m Quirkless?”

“Not at all! There are a couple groups that might, though. The High Class for example, who live near the center in a big fortified tower. They’re up-tight snobs, but you’ll find no better source for weapons, armor, or food. Polite enough, but will try and extort you for extra caps if they know what your Quirk or status is.”

“They try and extort you for extra caps for any reason,” Uraraka commented, leaning against Izuku’s chair as she spoke. Izuku nodded understandingly - it was good to get more information about the different factions in the radioactive topside. Hacker laughed again in response, but soon continued.

 

“Well you’re not wrong. Anyways! Wasteland 101. Get a weapon, get some armor, friends - I hear you have a head start on that, but the more the merrier! - as well as some connections to any nearby settlement, so you’ll have a safe place to rest. All junk you find is useful for something, but prioritize water, food, ammo, medical supplies, and chems- in that order. Water, food and medical supplies are pretty standard, but you’ll need ammo for shooting things, and chems are... well, they’re not something I’d recommend for anyone, honestly. But they do work in a pinch, and sell for quite a bit on the market, so if you’re hurting for caps just check if you have any Trigger, Nectar, Buffer… actually your Pip-Boy should be able to identify if you’ve got any expensive drugs with you!”

Izuku was actually writing this all down in his Pip-Boy, titling the note “Wasteland Survival Guide”. He wasn’t all that sure about having a weapon that would kill a person, if he was completely honest with himself… But it was best to jot down just in case. Along with the info he got from Present Mic’s show. 

“Alright, keep hunting for food, water, medical supplies, ammo and chems. Check. Have friends.” Izuku looked over at Uraraka, who nodded, giving a bright smile. “Check. Weapon… well I have a tire iron.”

“Oh, a melee fighter are you? Would recommend a rifle of some sorts just in case, without a quirk you are at a disadvantage in close-range.” Hacker commented, clearly enjoying the role of guidance for someone who’d listen. Izuku’s stomach suddenly had a knot in it, and the boy squirmed a bit. Uraraka spotted this, judging from the gentle pat on Izukus shoulder. 

 

“What’s wrong?”

“I… don’t think I can kill another person. Defend myself and others, sure. Hit them with something, if it’s for the right reasons. But taking a life…”

“Ah.” Uraraka and Hacker both commented, but Hacker soon continued. “It’s not just humans you need to worry about, you know. Mutated bugs and beasts, feral ghouls, abominations, crazed robots… The topside is filled with dangers. I’d get something for long range for those things alone.”

His shoulder and chest tingled in memory of tiny bug bites. Right. At that moment, having a pistol or something would’ve been a great idea. Izuku might’ve not liked it, but it was for his own good. 

“I’ll keep an eye out for one, then.”

“Good, good! Be sure to pick up all the weapons you can actually - they sell for a lot. So what about armor and connections?”

 

This time Uraraka piped up. “I can do those two! Dagobah Junkyard is just a small hop away from here, and they’re friendly people - if Midoriya does a couple small favors here and there, I’m sure they’ll give him a discount on armor as well. It’s a relatively safe place to crash as well.”

This was the start of a good plan, Izuku could feel it. First, they’d head to Dagobah and hopefully get Izuku on good terms with the locals. Having a spot to rest would also give him a chance to gather more knowledge on the top-side, and figure out a further plan on what to do with his life out here. 

“Well I better leave you two to it, got things to hack and survey. It’s been nice to be able to talk with someone again though, so if you find anymore two-way or ham radios, or manage to find someone to upgrade that Pip-Boy of yours, give me a call! I get lonely!”

With their good-byes exchanged, the connection was severed - Izuku joined Uraraka in scavenging, somehow ending up being the pack-mule for all the little knick knacks she found. Preserved food, rad-roach meat Uraraka insisted they’d cook once they’d reach Dagobah, a collection of bottle caps they divided evenly - apparently that was what was being used as currency in the current age - and some scrap electronics that were light-weight enough to be carried. No weapons, but Uraraka did find some duct-tape - which she promptly used to fix up Izuku’s tire iron, giving it a bit more support. 

So, with their bags full and a goal in mind, the two set off following the cracked asphalt road. They didn’t seem to have any big concerns of staying too quiet - Izuku’s radar was helpful on informing if there was anything around - and thus they started a light conversation. 

 

***✧･ﾟ･✧***

 

During the walk, Izuku learned a lot about Uraraka - she was not only a scavenger, but also helped to build Dagobah’s defenses with her quirk. How she got separated from her parents, but kept in contact via couriers and ham radios when she could. Apparently the gang-wars and some nasty critter nests made it near impossible to get straight to them - but Uraraka was confident they’d see each other soon enough. Izuku surely hoped so. 

He also learned that she liked fixing things, and had a keen eye for any and all possible sources for some caps. Old trash cans usually provided a few caps, and some old junk she found was also rather pricey according to Izuku’s Pip-Boy. 

That was another oddity - somehow, the machine strapped on his arm knew the value of anything that was put inside Izuku’s bag. It even gave weight, name and category. How on Earth it knew those things, Izuku did not know - and he knew almost everything about these things. Mysteries for later, he supposed… 

Another thing he learned was that Uraraka was good on her word. The smell of salt hit Izuku’s nostrils, the wind blew cold on the street, he could hear weird shrieks from above - “Seagulls”, Uraraka had explained, “They like to fly around in the sky looking for food”. Izuku decided he didn’t like anything that could make sounds like that and had no fear of the sky. But, all these were signs that they were near the sea, and thus the beach. It was the smell that cued him in that the trash-heap they were seeing was their destination.

 

Tall rubble-walls towered over them, with a small opening for a chain link gate that had been welded into a bus. It would’ve looked flimsy, but there were two guards on top of the bus, staring down at the incoming teens. One brandished a scary looking rifle, having it on the ready in case the two would try and start something. The guards however relaxed as Uraraka waved her hand in the air with cheery greeting - one of them knocked on the roof, and to Izuku’s surprise someone inside the bus peeked out at them from a window. 

“Uraraka, back already? Who’s your friend?”

The scraggly looking man scratched at his unshaven jaw, looking up and down on Izuku with one green and one blue eye. His lip had nasty looking gouge on it, which moved on every word he spoke in odd ways. Lazily blinking- Wait, his eyes changed colors, now the green was blue and the blue was green!

“Izuku Midoriya! He just got out of a Vault, and rushed to help me at the scavenging spot - Raiders are getting way too cozy in this area again.” Uraraka commented, rolling her eyes a bit. The man nodded a couple times, humming to himself before reaching back and presumably pressing some sort of button to open the gate - because it started to slide to the side. 

“Aight, I don’t see any nasty intent, but just in case let me run the rules by you. Dagobah is Raider-activity free. That means no stealing, or fighting or killing other people in here unless it’s for self-defense. Quirk usage on downlow. Shops are open when they’re open, don’t go harassing any of the owners if they happen to close shop early. There’s two alarms, one for raiders and one for sea-shits - just listen to the bells and the yeller. Cause trouble and we’ll throw you out.”

 

Izuku could only nod numbly - overall it made sense. Don’t cause trouble, or you’ll be in trouble. Right. 

“Got it, sir…?”

The man snorted, and just motioned his head towards the gate. “Gatekeeper. That’s all I am good for here. Get in so I can close the darn thing.”

Right then. Izuku made a quick, short bow before walking after Uraraka quickly, listening to how the gate slid back to its place behind them, eyes fixed on Uraraka’s back. 

 

That was until the scene really started to unfold to him. On the ground level, there were small roofed sections - shops, Izuku realized, judging from the displays and tables with all sorts of goodies. Some even had signs hanging from their roofs, with varying designs. On some of the trash mounds there was ladders, stairs, platforms - all leading up to sheds that had been built on top of the heaps, only to be buried under more trash that worked as the perfect safeguard against the elements. Well, aside from the possibly horrid stench, but Izuku was quite sure the worst of it had faded away. 

His eyes traced the opening in the middle, how the little shops seemed to all circle the opening, all facing the middle where a podium made out of an old huge refrigerator stood. Clearly this was the settlement’s meeting spot - with a couple people milling about, forming tiny groups to talk, or alone to converse with the vendors.

This wasn’t vault levels of population but… it was so much more livelier. People were talking, shouting, arms were draped over each other’s shoulders. Everyone had a place, sure, but it wasn’t the regulated, tight-ship management the Vault had. Organized chaos, if Izuku had to use a term. 

He froze, staring at the scene, feeling a stirring inside his stomach - something Uraraka noticed. 

 

“You alright, Izuku?”

“Yeah, I just…” he started, looking around, looking for the words to use. 

“I think… I think I like this place.”

 

***✧･ﾟ･✧***

 

Izuku’s eyes kept going to the magnificent, beautiful, shiny - add twenty or so other adjectives of your choice here - rifle. Not just any rifle, mind you. It was long and on the bulkier side, painted in greens and blacks with chrome accents, the barrel about as thick as Izuku’s arm, a scope in two parts on top... Oh, and it wasn’t just a normal lead spitting rifle either, oh no no. It was an energy-weapon. A laser rifle, that shot pure energy beams. A true beauty of engineering and science.

And it was at least a few thousand caps above Izuku’s budget when it came to weapons.

 

Granted, he still didn’t want to actually shoot anyone or anything, but from the perspective of someone who likes to tinker with things… He could appreciate true craftsmanship. Someone had put love into that thing.

“Heya, we got some scrap we could trade! Midoriya here needs some sort of armor so if you got anything for sale…” Uraraka greeted the white-haired vendor, a bright smile on her face which was mirrored by the seller of… A Little Bit Of Everything? That’s what the sign said at least, with the Bit part of the name painted in different color than the rest. In a smaller font, there was an explanation beneath. Armor, weapons, support items. Buying anything and everything. Well that explained it well enough… 

 

Izuku was too busy reading the sign and totally not staring at the beauty of an engineering to notice how the vendor and Uraraka were talking - that was at least until the girl took a hold of Izuku’s arm, having a bit concerning glint in her eyes. 

“Midoriyaaa~ Bit will give us a discount if you let them check your Pip-Boy~ It’ll just take a minute!”

 

***✧･ﾟ･✧***

 

It didn’t take a minute. It took closer to half an hour. Half an hour spent trying to explain to the vendor that no, he didn’t want anyone dismantling the hardware strapped into his arm. Explaining that some files were free to be copied, but his personal notes should be left at that. Trying to keep the tools away from the eccentric fellow’s hands so they wouldn’t get too carried away in checking the ins and outs of the machinery. 

Somehow, some way, they managed to get out unscathed - their bags were lighter by quite a bit, and Izuku actually had some protection around his arms and chest. Well, his left arm, at least, his right arm already had the sturdy machine. 

 

“Uraraka… please do not offer my personal computer as a way to get a sale in the future without asking me first. Please?” Izuku tried not to sound whiny - the vendor, Bit, had been friendly, sure, but a person’s Pip-Boy was usually rather, well, personal. They’d been lucky this fellow didn’t have ulterior motives. 

Uraraka giggled, but made a somewhat apologetic smile. 

“Sorry, I guess I got a bit carried away there. It’s not often people in the Wastes offer a discount!”

Izuku just sighed, shaking head a bit before smiling. “It’s fine. Just ask next time, okay? I have a diary inside this thing and all that.”

“Noted!” Uraraka chirped, happily, while leading the way towards one of the straighter walls. “Now, how about we take some notices for work, go sit down at the restaurant, and skim through the offers while we eat, hm?” The wall… it was covered in paper-slips. Some were more yellowed out, some were clearly recycled. Some had big bold letters, while others had neater writing, and each note was pinned into the wall by something. A knife, a nail, someone had even used a small piece of what Izuku assumed was tape. Uraraka took a brief look at each notice, picking up a handful before turning on her heels again. 

 

Once again she lead them to another part - this was the closest thing to a ‘restaurant’ the Wastes possibly had. Actually, it was just a vendor stand with a couple chairs and tiny tables in front of it, and something that looked like an old time oven or grill behind the counter. The scent of cooked meat and vegetables whiffed through the air, and Izuku realized that he was indeed hungry. 

Sitting down and letting Uraraka handle the bartering - caps were still a new thing to him, and the whole concept of paying for something like food - Izuku started going through the papers one by one, organizing them by the type of job they were described as. Retrieval, escort, extermination, miscellaneous… There certainly were quite a few different things to do.

Uraraka sat down next to him a couple minutes later - offering him a stick with meats sticking out of it. “Gecko kebab! Dig in!”

Izuku turned the kebab in his hand a couple of times - it was so different from the pre-packaged food, and the food-chips his Vault had offered. Fresh produce like this was, well, a new thing. One sniff, and a nibble later, and Izuku wanted to scream from pure joy. That or cry. Sob and curl up on the floor to repeat how unfair the world was, for the Vault to be robbed of such treasures of taste.

“Sheesh Midoriya, have you never had grilled meat before?” Uraraka joked, but then saw the teary eyes. “... Oh.”

 

It took a couple of minutes of coaxing, but finally Izuku managed to focus on the notices, as Uraraka went through them more thoroughly. She tapped her chin as she read through, muttering out loud. 

“Well that doesn’t pay well enough, that requires walking to Old Neighborhood… We could do the mole rat one, but you don’t have a proper weapon yet. Oh! Here’s one, cleaning duty! It’s not glamorous but it pays well, mostly because no one else wants to do it. I also think these two handy-man jobs could do nicely just as starters.” Uraraka finally slid some of the notices to Izuku, who took better read on them. 

Suddenly his Pip-Boy dinged, a flashing alarm on the top left corner on his vision. 

 

_Objective added - Clean Beach_   
_Objective added - Lookout Duty_   
_Objective added - Find The Thief  
Objective added - Delivery to U.A. High_

 

Izuku blinked a couple of times, the notifications fading from his vision. Four objectives, okay, that was more than he had anticipated. Looking at his Pip-Boy, he toggled through the menus to find the objectives again. He soon found out he could actually toggle them on and off, and even choose what he was actively going to do. 

“Cleaning first, I guess?” he asked before looking over at Uraraka. And that was when he realized his radar now had a small icon in it. An arrow? 

“Cleaning it is!” Uraraka cheered, downing her water in a single move. Looking at the list, this was going to be a long day…  

 

* * *

 

#####  **Footnote - Level Up  
****New Perk added - Pack Rat. Items with a weight of two pounds or less now weighs half as much.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have a cameo of Bit, who's from the fantastic fic Leviathan, created by rest_in_rip - who was chill enough to let me borrow 'em just for quick thing here. I love Bit, and so does few of my friends who are into Leviathan, so hopefully I made some justice even if the cameo was short and non-verbal ;w;
> 
> ALSO on other news! I made server for this fic. I know it's bit presumptuous of me, but it's also good way for me to stay organized. Feel free to drop in! https://discord.gg/H6rFqu4


	4. Chapter 4 - Crab Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously in U.A. Fallout!  
> \- Uraraka and Izuku have become steadfast friends, and the teen has learned that the topside isn’t nearly as hostile as he thought. Dangerous, yes, but not hateful. It is time he starts carving his own place in the local community - but how will his endeavors go?

 

_"We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds."_

  **\- Aristotle Onassis**

* * *

 

*✧･ﾟ･✧*

 

_“Hello Little Listeners! It is me, Present Mic, bringing you the latest news and the funky grooves from the Wasteland!”_

 

Izuku had adjusted his Pip-Boy broadcaster in a way where Uraraka could listen to the radio as well. It turned out Present Mic was a very well liked figure in the Wasteland, most people liking him for his optimistic attitude and speeches on how people should work together. The warnings about Raiders were also a welcomed addition; that had saved quite a few little settlements so far. 

 

The advice Present Mic had given during the broadcasts were also extremely useful, as Izuku had learned early on. Add all these together, and Izuku had decided that he liked Present Mic as well, and if he had the chance to meet him during his trip into U.A. High, he’d personally thank him for all the hard work he had put into the radio show.

 

There were other channels as well, as Izuku had noticed earlier, but none of them really interested him as of this moment. Some violin music on one, which while pretty wasn’t really up to his tastes, and some sort of emergency channel that was so garbled Izuku couldn’t quite make heads or tails of it. Bad coverage, possibly. 

 

Neither of them were as good as Present Mic, but then again, it was hard to hold a candle to that man’s energy.

 

 _“Today we’re having a bit of a slow day when it comes to alarms. So I’ll just repeat the news from a few hours ago -_ _a_ _Brotherhood of Steel knight and some scribes were seen walking around the sea-side of the town. If you happen to be there, steer clear until they pass. Should be easy to spot with that stomping armor they got!”_

 

“Brotherhood of Steel?” Izuku lifted his gaze from the sand to look at Uraraka, who was floating one of some old kitchen appliances next to her - tied with a rope to her belt so they wouldn’t lose it. He had heard of the two raider gangs, the League and the Hellfires, but “Brotherhood of Steel” didn’t sound like your typical gang-name. Too long, not intimidating enough. 

 

“Oh, they’re remnants of the old world army,” Uraraka started, who was going through an old microwave with a screwdriver, trying to find all the scrap electronic parts that would have any value. She didn’t even look up at Izuku as she continued, focusing on the work with experienced moves.

 

“They have some of the best tech and resources available, but don’t exactly use it to help others. A bit xenophobic and all that, so it’s best to keep distance just in case. They take out raider bases and monster-nests if they become a problem for them, so most of us don’t mind them not giving more.” 

 

“Small blessings then?” Izuku confirmed, returning to combing the beach of things he could carry in his borrowed backpack. Their job wasn’t exactly clean up, like he had thought - their job was to comb the beach for anything that looked valuable or useful. Valuable for salvage, at least - 200 years later and the sea currents were still bringing new treasures to the beach nearly daily. Good thing Uraraka was with him, she knew exactly what they were looking for.

 

“That and most of us don’t want to tangle with team of Brotherhood Knights. I don’t know about you but I’d stay away from the firing end of a minigun or gatling laser.” 

 

Oh. Yeah that did sound like a smart idea. With that in mind, imagining an armored, jacked up soldier with a weapon that could tear him to pieces in less than a second, Izuku returned to his job to collect items. The image was absolutely horrifying, and the teen was just glad he hadn’t managed to anger any of the Brotherhood yet...

 

His thoughts were interrupted by a shout from the top of the barricade behind them. 

 

“Hey kids, stay where I can see you! I can’t exactly keep an eye on you if you keep disappearing!”

 

The guard that was standing on top of the barricade waved his rifle in air quickly to make sure the two had seen him, and Izuku replied by giving a thumbs up. They were a bit too far away from the walls for Izuku’s tastes - he had just gotten into the safety of Dagobah and was already outside of it. Not exactly ideal, but it was something he was going to have to get used to. 

 

Especially since he knew some sort of monsters lurked in these sandy trash piles. Hearing several names but not being able to picture the beasts, the only thing he did memorize was that most things here weren’t friendly. And that they were aquatic. He did know that if he met a creature bigger than him, he’d have to shout for the guard to help - not that Izuku needed an order like that to remember it. 

 

What Izuku did know that nearly all of these were as big, if not bigger, than him. Remains and mutated creatures from the days before the nuclear bombs. There was names such as gulper, angler and fog crawler thrown, as well as hermit crab and mirelurks. Too many names, not enough explanations - but Uraraka had explained that the only things they really needed to worry about were mirelurks and gulpers - hermit crabs were easy enough to avoid if you stayed away from big buses, fog crawlers didn’t like sunlight, and anglers preferred to hunt in the water.

 

So that only left two big monster-types to worry about. Somehow that didn’t make Izuku feel any better. His eyes scanned around, looking for something that would seem interesting,  when they landed on something white and spherical. 

 

“Hey, Uraraka, what are those?” he asked over his shoulder, taking a few steps closer without waiting for a reply. The teen squinted, taking in the scene better. A mound of dirt and mud, and five off-white oval balls were together, each about the size of his head. If he didn’t know better, he’d call it a bird’s nest, like those in the old children's books his Vault had. Except this wasn’t in a tree. And it was way too big to be in one, anyways. 

 

“Midoriya, get back!”

 

“Huh?” 

 

The shout came a bit too late, as Izuku’s foot fell down. The earth beneath him erupted, sending him off-balance and stumbling away from the ‘nest’. Tripping down to the ground, he rolled and scampered backwards from the monstrous beast that had been laying in ambush.

 

 

 

One look was enough for Izuku to scream and try to run away from what he assumed to be either a mirelurk or a gulper - and he understood why he had been warned about these things. Scanning his memory for a metaphor, closest thing he could think of was a crab and turtle having a child, that then got chucked into a steroid-bath. 

 

It certainly would explain the massive shell with barnacles and trash stuck on to it. And the massive pincers, with ridges on the outer edge. The many, many little limbs twitching and moving underneath, some working as legs, some trying to get hold of Izuku. And the face, the blank triangular face that let out high pitched squeals along with the skittering sound that came from it’s legs as it scurried after Izuku, swiping one of those pincers at the teen.

 

That’s when he stumbled forward, and right into a sand-mound… that also came alive upon being landed on. Oh now he got. MireLURK. Yep, these were the mirelurks. And Izuku already hated them.

 

“Just how many of these things are there!?” Izuku cried, before getting on to his feet. The crabs were fast, but Izuku was certainly faster, weaving between the two attacking angry mirelurks, while Uraraka kept her distance and kept shouting encouragements. Finally gaining a bit of distance, he reached for his trusty tire-iron hanging from his belt and took a swing. 

 

Quite frankly he wasn’t expecting to hit the thing anywhere vital - no way his blunt weapon would penetrate that shell to cause damage. But it was all he could think when the leading mirelurk was lunging at him, arm swinging wild with those sharp ridges on the pincer ready to tear him apart. The weapon and the pincer connected, intercepting the attack, and the mirelurk staggered back. Izuku, on the other hand, was able to hold his ground. Barely. He did feel that impact down his arms, but now wasn’t the time to fuss about that - the important part was that he managed to block!

 

_‘Oh tire-iron, I do not care what Hacker says, you’re a good friend’_

 

A loud bang rang out, and the mirelurk’s legs on the right side went limp in an explosion of green goo. Daring a quick look to where the attack had come from, Izuku spotted the earlier guard, sniping away at the mirelurks with deadly accuracy, aiming at the legs and pincers. 

 

Uraraka also joined the fray after getting rid of the kitchen appliances she had been floating, running from behind one of the mirelurks and lightly tapping it with all fingers, sending it sky-high. It was quite hilarious to watch, all those little legs and pincers flailing in weightlessness. 

 

That left just one mirelurk to deal with - one that was dead set on getting Izuku. Even with that limp, it was still quick and quite ferocious, and completely ignored the pings against the carapace on its back. So, an alternative method was needed - Izuku dashed back once again, avoiding another swipe before dashing in. The timing had to be perfect on this! 

 

The VATS was activated, and Izuku reveled in the slowed down state which allowed him to pick and choose what to hit first. It also let him think and strategize without having to worry too much, those precious few seconds making a big difference.

 

He chose to target the area that was constantly being guarded, making it obviously the weakest point - a point that didn’t have anything to shield it, thus allowing him to target that one area repeatedly. The head. 

 

He hit once, twice, thrice. Every hit staggered the creature enough for it not to be able to retaliate, and on third hit a loud crack was heard - the beast went down, twitching a few times before going completely limp.

 

Izuku, on the other hand… he was a bit of a mess. Out of breath, his hands gripping his weapon with white knuckles, unable to calm down. He’d never get used to the feeling of killing something, but the combat itself started to get a tad easier with each fight. If that was a good or bad thing, he didn’t know. At least it wasn’t another human… 

 

The other mirelurk came down crashing, dead on impact. Uraraka had a terrifying quirk, and Izuku was just glad she was on his side and not a raider. That she didn’t exactly use her powers to harm others, unless it was for self-defense.

 

“Well would you look at that.” she commented, looking at the two mirelurks and then at the nest. “Two mirelurks and a nest with eggs. That’s actually pretty good haul!”

 

Izuku wasn’t going to question it, only pulling out a scavenged knife - one which he was not going to use in a fight anytime soon with his lack of skills - and followed Uraraka’s lead on how to get the best and most valuable parts out of the dead giant crabs. Someone from the town came to help them as well with hauling the prizes - their sniper guard having alerted the citizens that there were fresh kills and a pair of teenagers just weren’t going to be enough to carry all this back in. 

 

While going through the head of the beast that had nearly taken his head off, something caught Izuku’s eye - a piece of metal that had a faint glow to it, that was stuck in the mirelurk’s jaws. Picking his knife once again, he dug into the flesh and bone, prying the peculiar item out of the spot it had wedged itself into. With a wet, disgusting sound, he managed to yank the final piece of it out without breaking anything, giving the glowing item a once-over. 

 

It was two pieces of rounded rectangular metal strung together on a ball chain, a faint blue glow at the top halves. One had a bar-code of some sort, and a series of numbers. The other one had a faint name on it, but even when squinting Izuku couldn’t quite figure out what it said. 

 

Deciding this was for later, he placed the object into his bag, checking what the Pip-Boy classified the mystery gift from a giant crab-man was. 

 

 _Initiate_ _’_ _s Holotags_

 

Definitely a puzzle for later. Now, he’d have to choose what to do with the mirelurks! Not sure what to do, he asked for Uraraka’s opinion, and she had quite a few options. 

 

“Well we don’t need the carapaces, so definitely should sell those. Meat is a bit trickier - we could keep it, but I doubt even with the two of us we can eat two whole mirelurks without the meat going bad. The eggs are the same, I don’t even know how to cook those…” she hummed, looking at the beasts that had been dismantled by four experienced hands by now. 

 

The man that had come from the town gave a toothy smile - missing a few of the teeth though - and interjected real quick. “Well the butcher knows. I’m sure if you ask all nice and polite, he’ll tell you. But if you are trying to choose what to do with all this, how ‘bouts you donate one of these to the town. We gots a few hungry mouths that would surely appreciate a good meal for once!”

 

That… wasn’t a bad idea. Izuku looked over at Uraraka, who shrugged but then smiled and nodded. “Sounds good to me. Would be a waste to throw away good meat!”

 

Izuku mulled it over for a second, before nodding solemnly. “Sure. The town can have a mirelurk and half - and most of the eggs. I just want to taste what your butcher can make out of these!” he added at the end with way too cheeky grin. Uraraka snorted, giving him a playful punch on his shoulder and muttering something about Izuku being a bottomless pit.

 

Izuku didn’t object, just laughing a bit before kneeling down and picking one of the carapaces loaded with their prizes, helping to carry it back into the settlement. While he hadn’t intended it that way, killing a couple of mirelurks and donating most of the loot to them did work in his favor - giving him a positive boost in their eyes. And while the teen didn’t exactly feel like he deserved any praise - he was just defending himself and choosing the most practical solution! - he certainly wasn’t going to object if people were a bit friendlier to him. He’d call that a win.

 

That and Izuku would get to taste yet another Wasteland delicacy!

 

*✧･ﾟ･✧*

 

_Objective completed - Clean Beach_

 

The notification dinged happily in Izuku’s vision as one of the guards gave him caps for his trouble. Both for helping out with clearing a couple of mirelurks and their eggs - which Izuku learned were a bit of a pest problem around here - and for bringing in some haul. The carcasses and treats were already taken to more capable hands, and Izuku along with Uraraka decided to take a walk around the town while waiting. 

 

While walking, Izuku took notice of the changed atmosphere - while what he did wasn’t exactly a big magnificent thing, a small positive favor done to the little settlement had definitely gotten them to regard him with a bit more attention. It wasn’t a massive shift, but more often than not, people he passed smiled, or gave a friendly nod. Something Izuku wasn’t used to, but repaid in kind.

 

One older man - who had only one leg - even patted Izuku on the shoulder, thanking him for today's meal. Izuku, dumbfounded, sputtered out that it was no big deal, and that he was happy that he was able to help even a little bit. The smile he was given… if people outside the Vault smiled like that for something as simple as a meal, then Izuku was going to stop and help as often as possible.

 

With that in mind, the two walked around, looking at vendors’ stocks and talking with one another, trying to figure out what to get for the road. First order of business, a new backpack for Izuku. His messenger bag was fine and all, but it didn’t have nearly enough space for everything they were most likely going to find. So, they found a scavenger, and after some haggling… Izuku now had a yellow backpack.

 

“That yellow is like a giant target you know,” Uraraka commented, making Izuku roll his eyes a bit. 

 

“Well it was the only sturdy backpack on sale. We can paint it black later,” he laughed, pulling on the straps to make sure the pack was secure. 

 

It was already around noon, and the settlement was buzzing with people. Some were getting ready to move on with their caravans under the cover of night, others were bartering with the innkeeper for a room to rest. Uraraka dragged Izuku along to sit down at the center, and the two fell into a comfortable silence, just people watching. Well, Izuku was people watching, Uraraka was checking his tire-iron to see if there was anything she could do to make sure it would last a bit longer. 

 

“Hey, I’ll go check the weapons vendor, maybe I could try and get you another weapon. Mind if I take your caps?”

 

At least Uraraka was being polite and asked about it this time. Izuku dug through his pockets, picking out the little bag that held the little metal pieces and throwing it at Uraraka. And, while she was gone, he dug out the holotag from his new backpack’s side pocket, just to look at it. 

 

The faded text hadn’t become any easier to read, but Izuku spent the next moments in silence, clearing out as much grime and dirt as he could off the scratched metal. The blue glow was as persistent as ever as well. Such a curious little thing, really...

 

*✧･ﾟ･✧*

 

“This is the best thing EVER!”

 

No wonder mirelurks were so tough to kill, they were absolutely delicious! And the mirelurk cakes, those were heaven on Earth. Sure, Izuku had taken just a few bites, since there weren’t too many to go around in the first place. But he had made sure to get the recipe safely tucked into his Pip-Boy datafiles, and to make a mental note to collect the ingredients whenever possible.

 

He also had a new weapon on his back - well, strapped to the bag but still. A baseball bat. It was a bit too big and clunky to use for Izuku’s tastes, but when in Rome… a gun was still a bit too expensive for their budget. With luck, they’d find one while scavenging though - from what Izuku had learned, cheap guns were everywhere.

 

Several people came around during the shared meal-time, just to welcome Izuku into the settlement, as well as thank him for the day’s catch. Izuku, each time, turned into a flustered mess, just pointing out that Uraraka did just as much if not more than Izuku, and the sniper-guard - who was standing a ways off eating some of the roast - had helped quite a bit as well. But despite this, he felt happy. Accepted. He was part of the group.

 

Speaking of the group, there was a bit of a commotion at the gates. Izuku didn’t hear it at first, but a gathering of people and the chatter finally caught his attention, until finally he heard a loud exclamation from the Gatekeeper that silenced it all. Swallowing the last piece of the cake, Izuku got up, and trotted over to the scene to hear what was going on - while Uraraka followed suit. 

 

“Okay FINE, you can get in, but you’ll have to leave that tincan at the gates! That bucket-head armor will cause more damage than good in here!”

 

Alright, the Gatekeeper was not happy about something, or someone. Maybe there was something Izuku could do? Probably not, but he wanted to be on stand-by just in case. His radar could inform about hostiles, and he could shout out the alarm instantly if these were baddies.

 

“Sir I implore you, I need the armor for my navigation system! I assure you it is not for nefarious purposes!”

 

What he found as he managed to get past the crowd was… quite the scene. Was that a talking robot or a man in robot costume? The arm-chops reminded Izuku of a robot, same with the attire and height, but the voice and the way the two robed figures with the armor-clad humanoid were moving suggested there was indeed a person inside it.

 

“I don’t care if that thing is your respiratory system. Either you get out of that thing, or you won’t get any further in to the settlement!” The Gatekeeper pointed with one gnarly finger at the young lad, who took a deep breath, and sighed. Uraraka, meanwhile, tugged on Izuku’s sleeve a bit. 

 

“Remember our talk earlier about the Brotherhood? Those three are from the Brotherhood,” she whispered in a low voice, hoping the trio wouldn’t notice. Thankfully the trio, and one very tired looking Gatekeeper, were too busy arguing to notice anything aside from maybe a nuclear-bomb.

 

“If I cannot track my objective, my visit would be pointless. I ask again that you-”

 

Alright, this was going no-where. Time for some outsider interjection to diffuse the situation and not get Dagobah on the Brotherhood’s bad side.

 

“Excuse me? What’s going on?”

 

Izuku stepped in, looking from the possibly-a-robot to Gatekeeper. The Gatekeeper rolled his eyes, before huffing distaintly. Alright he was not a fan of the Brotherhood, maybe it was just a good thing a more neutral party intervened. 

 

“The Brotherhood of Steel wants in for some reason. And they won’t leave the tincan outside, like they should.”

 

“I already have explained, I need it to track our objective!” the robot mister said, again with those chopping motions before pausing, and turning the helmeted visor towards Izuku. Oh why did Izuku suddenly get some flashbacks to the Vault days when the security remembered that Izuku was Quirkless and thus the most likely culprit to whatever was going on?  “Or… not?”

 

And now why did Izuku feel like this was all his fault somehow? Uraraka caught up with him, and stood right next to him, arms crossed but otherwise non-threatening. Just like that, Izuku felt so much better - he wasn’t alone. Right, he wasn’t completely alone, and he hadn’t done anything exactly bad. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding? Best to make sure.

 

“Did… I do something?” he asked, hesitantly, but to his surprise the armor suddenly hissed, the helmet popping off - revealing a boy closer to his age. Oh, this was new. Narrow, slightly intense eyes with glasses, and neatly cut, dark blue hair with undercut, all tied together with more square and serious face. But what broke the illusion of trouble was the way he bowed to the two of them. Well, as much as that armor let him, anyhow.

 

“My apologies for the intrusion! My name is Iida Tenya, Junior Knight of the Brotherhood of Steel. Over there is Scribe Ueno Aki, and Initiate Torigoya Chishiki.” The robotman, Iida, motioned towards the two. Ueno, an older woman with a stern face and a neat bun for her haircut, gave a stiff nod, while Torigoya - a teen closer to their age of darker complexion speckled with neon freckles of blue and green, along having pink hair - smiled a bit while his wings and tail twitched excitedly. Truly, the two couldn’t be more different.

 

“Traveling Knight after this mission.” Torigoya smirked, lifting their weapon to rest against shoulder. 

 

Izuku looked at one, then the other, and then nodded a bit - realizing the crowd had lost its interest for the most part, he gained a slight amount of confidence. It was easier to speak without an audience, and so far the Brotherhood members hadn’t exactly been unfriendly towards him.  

 

“Hi. Midoriya Izuku - I’m kinda new to the Wastelands. And this is my friend, Uraraka Ochako. Sorry if I’m being a bit oblivious but… what’s this about?”

 

Iida straightened his back - if it was possible with that metal suit - and cleared his throat a tad. It seemed he had finally realized he was talking to someone who wasn’t exactly used to the whole outside world thing yet.

 

“We received a message that one of our holotags was recovered. It has a chip on it for tracking, but until now it hasn’t been exactly easy to pinpoint. We believe it belongs to one of our missing squad members, and would like as detailed a report as possible on where it was found, including its state, where it was recovered, and any possible difficulties we would have if we’d recover the rest.”

 

Well that was a mouthful. Iida certainly could talk! But so could Midoriya, who felt a little bit of kinship with the metal-clad Junior Knight. Smiling a bit, Izuku dug through his pockets, picking out the glowing piece of metal. 

 

“I think you mean this? I found it a few hours ago, in the mouth of a mirelurk. I tried cleaning it up a tad.”

 

“A… mirelurk?” Iida gave horrified gasp as the Scribe - Ueno - reached out to take the metal, giving it a once over. Izuku nodded a few times again, then pointing at the general direction of where the fight had been.

 

“There was a nest on the beach. I could take you there if you want?”

 

Uraraka was quick to take hold of his arm in protest - something Izuku hadn’t expected, but didn’t protest about either. “Midoriya, it’s almost night-time. And you’ve been up all day. If there’s more mirelurks around... “

 

Oh. Right. Izuku blinked few times, realizing then how stupid of a plan it was to head out at the dead of the night mirelurk hunting, especially without any rest. Alright, new plan.

 

“Actually, could we meet up at the gates in the morning? I’ll take you right to the spot where we found the tag.”

 

Iida seemed to think this over for a moment, before nodding. “Yes I suppose a guide would be most efficient in this situation, with the foreign territory and all! And you do indeed need good rest before aiding us - we do not wish any harm to come to any who wish to help on our endeavours.”

 

Oh Izuku liked Iida already. Despite his boisterous attitude, he was clearly someone who could be reasoned with, if it was phrased right. And who didn’t put others’ health above his objectives. 

 

If even half of the Brotherhood was this reasonable, then what was the big scare?

 

“Alright, in the morning it is! Seven AM sound good?” 

 

Iida saluted, before placing his armor helmet back on. “Seven in the morning it is! Be sure to have all your equipment ready and that you’re geared up. We’ll be camping nearby, in case you are set to go earlier.”

 

Well that went smoothly. With final goodbye and promises to meet at the spot on agreed time, Izuku just turned to look at Uraraka with big bright smile. 

 

“Well that wasn’t so bad!”

 

Uraraka just rolled her eyes, giving slight smile already. “You’re just going to stop and help everyone you can, aren’t you? Come on now… you need rest.”

 

* * *

#####  **Footnote - Level Up  
****New Perk added - Big Leagues. Swing for the fences! Do 20% more melee weapon damage!**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooo boy. It was noted on last chapter that my pacing is bit speedy, so I tried slowing it down a tad. Won't lie I got a bit too excited about getting to certain scenes and so the pacing suffered, time to learn to pace myself eh?
> 
> Funny story, my editor yelled 'IIDA!' before he even said his name. The chop was distinct enough for 'em to recognize him!
> 
> btw if you want to hang out in discord, here's the server link! https://discord.gg/H6rFqu4
> 
> Torigoya Chishiki is actually my friends, Storm_Clouds_and_Starshine, OC, and will be cameoing here for couple chapters.


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